Neigh neigh neigh

Today I disrupted my blissful state of idleness by engaging in a leisurely pursuit of yore. It has been about ten years since I’ve been on a horse but the need to recreate, spurred by a sudden abundance of free time, drove me to revisit this high school pastime.

When I met Swan Lake*, my off-white, spotty steed, I began having second thoughts. Somewhat belligerent and easily spooked (it rained heavily this evening with distant lightning and thunder), and with me as inept rider, Swan Lake was a handful. He (she?) preferred briskly trotting to cantering, tripped a couple times, and bucked when frightened by the elements. Our circles and other geometric movements were ill-formed, and Swan Lake was more interested in chewing the enclosure fence than doing fancy footwork. Happily, the one thing I was good at (and remembered) was how not to fall off.

I’m disappointed that the evening’s prancing didn’t produce the ephemeral amusement that I remembered. As a long-obsolete form of transport and warfare, I’m sort of convinced that quadrupeds, especially of the large, ungulate variety, should be left as they are -- powered by instinctive intelligence, and inspired by the basic urges of eating, sleeping, and procreating.

*actual photo forthcoming